A year on from the ousting of Assad

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  Damascus, Syria — “Hold your head high, you’re a free Syrian.” The refrain of this Arabic song—now widely embraced as the unofficial anthem of a new Syria—echoes throughout Damascus. It blares from market loudspeakers, rings out during celebrations in the central square, and is even sung by the man offering traditional coffee to new arrivals at the airport. For decades, many Syrians lived with lowered gazes under the authoritarian rule of the Al-Assad family. The regime maintained an expansive surveillance system in which the feared Mukhabarat , the intelligence network, kept the population in check. Remaining silent was often the safest choice—until the Arab Spring ignited an uprising, and Assad’s fierce response plunged the nation into a ten-year civil war. Today, Syrians are openly and energetically marking the first anniversary of what they regard as their liberation from Assad’s government. The celebration follows a rapid rebel offensive on December 8 last year, led by fo...
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Japan tells residents to evacuate as powerful earthquake strikes north-east

 

Here is a fully rewritten (spun) version of your article while keeping the original meaning intact and avoiding added facts:

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck north-eastern Japan, triggering evacuation orders for roughly 90,000 people and prompting tsunami warnings that were later reduced to lower-level advisories.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) initially warned that waves up to 3 metres (10ft) could reach the region’s coastline after the quake hit offshore at 11:15pm (2:15pm GMT).

Tsunami warnings were put in place for Hokkaido, Aomori, and Iwate, and waves measuring 20–70cm (7–27in) were recorded at several ports, according to the JMA.

By early Tuesday morning, however, the agency downgraded those warnings to advisories, indicating that expected wave heights had decreased and the risk of coastal flooding had diminished.

Here is a fully rewritten (spun) version of your text, keeping all the original facts but expressing them in new wording and structure:

Officials reported multiple fires in Aomori, and roughly 90,000 people were urged to move to evacuation centres, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Satoshi Kato, a high school vice-principal in Hachinohe, told NHK that he was at home when the quake hit, describing how dishes and glasses crashed to the floor and shattered.

He said he drove to the school, which serves as an evacuation site, but encountered traffic congestion and several accidents as anxious residents tried to leave the area. As of his arrival, no evacuees had yet reached the school.

The quake’s epicentre was about 50 miles (80km) offshore from Aomori prefecture at a depth of 30 miles, the agency noted.

On Japan’s seismic scale of one to seven, the tremor was rated an “upper six” in Aomori — a level strong enough to prevent people from standing or moving without crawling. At this intensity, large furniture can topple, and wall tiles and windows are commonly damaged.

East Japan Railway halted several train services in the region, which had also suffered devastation in the 2011 magnitude-9.0 earthquake.

Local utilities reported no issues at nearby nuclear power facilities run by Tohoku Electric Power and Hokkaido Electric Power, though Tohoku Electric confirmed widespread power outages affecting thousands.

Japan remains among the world’s most seismically active nations, experiencing a quake roughly every five minutes. Sitting along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of geologic faults, volcanoes, and oceanic trenches, the country accounts for about 20% of global earthquakes measuring 6.0 or greater.



Location: Japan

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